Game-puzzle



(No Model.)

A. B. HARRIS.

GAME PUZZLE.

Patented Au.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AZARIAH B. HARRIS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

GAME-PUZZhE. I

iJ-PBGIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 347,596, dated August17, 1886.

Application filed March 13, IBBIXE Serial No. 195,069. (N 0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AZARIAH B. HARRIS, a .citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inGame-Puzzles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a novel game-puzzle to be played with agrooved block-tray and a series of numbered blocks, the latter beingadapted to be moved in a certain order from one of the grooves in saidtray to another; and the invention consists in the peculiar constructionof the apparatus for playing said game, all as hereinafter fullydescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is aperspective view of an apparatus for playing my improved gamepuzzleconstructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view ofthe blocktray, and Fig. 3 is like view of one of said numbered blocks.

In the drawings, A is a tray, of rectangular form, made of wood or metalor of any other suitable material, having the upstanding border 1),surrounding its bottom and the partitions 0 c secured on the latterbetween the side borders thereof and parallel with the latter, saidpartitions extending from one end of the tray nearly to the other,thereby forming three parallel grooves in the tray of equal widthbetween said side borders and partitions, and providing a clear space,d, between the endsof said partitions and the adjoining border, I), atthe end of the tray.

A series of blocks, 6, preferably of rectangular form,numbered from 1 to17, (more or less,) and adapted to be freely moved in the said threegrooves of the tray A,is provided for use with the latter, and thegame-puzzle is played by the use of said grooved tray and numberedblocks, as follows: The series of blocks is placed in groove 1,forinstance, of the tray,in the numerical order shown in Fig. 1that is tosay, the block bearing the highest number beingat the lower end of thecolumn. The puzzle feature of the game consists in the obstacles whichare encountered by the player in the attempts which are made to move thenumbered blocks from the groove 1 into the groove 3 or 2 of the tray, sothat they shall all be transferred to one of the last-named grooves inthe same numerical order as shown in Fig. 1; but in so moving saidblocks (and their transfer from one groove to another in the orderstated requires that they be moved in and out of grooves 2 and 3 severaltimes) the player is prohibited from placing any block above one whichbears a lesser number than the moved blockthat is to say, No. 3 may notbe placed above 2 in any of the moves. Thus in making the said moves ofthe blocks from and into grooves 1, 2, and 3 through the space (1, No. 1may be first moved from its place at the head of the column in groove 1into groove 2, then No. 2 may be moved into groove 3, and then No. 1 maybe moved into groove 3 over No. 2, leaving groove2 free, into whichblock No. 3 is then moved; but now the latter must be placed beneath No.2 in groove 3, and to accomplish this block 1 may be moved into groove1, over block 4. Then block 2 may be moved over block 3 in groove 2,then block 1 may be moved back to groove 3, permitting block 2 to bemoved over block 4, and then block 1 may be moved over block 2, leavinggroove 3 free, into which block 3 may be moved from groove 2, and thenblock 1 may be moved into groove 2,succeeding which block 2 is movedover block 3, and block 1 is moved over No. 2, when the first threeblocks occupy their proper numerical order in groove 3, and so on withall the blocks.

What I claim'as my invention is- 1. A game-puzzle apparatus consistingof a grooved tray having three parallel grooves therein and an openspace, d, about equal to the width of the grooves at one end of saidgrooves, combined with a series of numbered blocks adapted to be movedfrom groove to groove on said tray,substantially as set forth.

2. A game-puzzle consisting of a grooved tray having three parallelgrooves therein and an open space at one end only equal in width to thegrooves, and a series of square blocks of width to move easily but notturn in the grooves, said blocks being numbered on their faces, as setforth.

AZARIAH BI HARRIS.

Witnesses:

H. A. CHAPIN, G. M. CHAMBERLAIN.

